Why touch screen buttons are bad.

[njiska]

Look i love my DS, namely for Kirby, Meteos and Nanostray, but there's something in that last game that really pisses me off.

It's one thing to use buttons to control the action or to use the touch screen to control the action, but when you have to use both it's a bitch.

Nanostray is an amazing shooter, but the weapon switching controls are just nasty. You have to take your eyes off the action an look down to find the button, or rub around until you're weapon switches to the one you want. You can't feel for it so those are you're only options. It's really frustrating and it looks like this trend is due to continue.

I will not touch my screen with my bare fingers so that means i have to play with the thumbstrap and beleive me it's a bitch to use the normal buttons with that thing on. Another failing of the Touch/Buttons system.

Both of these are reasons why it hampers game play and hinders the experience but sadly it looks like many future games are going with the combo system. Viewtiful Joe DS and Castlevaina Dawn of Sorrow both plan on using the combo system and i'm sure many more will follow. Hell it's even starting to look like the Revolution will have this problem.

Maybe it's just me but i fucking hate it and i wish i never had to see it again.

[§ Gideon §]

Yeah, I agree. It's just plain stupid.

Anecdote: During senior year, my high school got a multi-million technology grant. They go out and buy digital projectors for every classroom.

I think they made a pretty good choice: Digital projectors are awesome pieces of technology--don't you think? I know there are a good number of people around here with projectors in their game rooms, and they can probably tell you how good the picture quality is... but you can do a lot more with them.

Well, my school decides to use all this great technology for clocks. Each and every classroom now has a six-foot clock next to the door. Ya-fucking-hoo.

Sometimes people know that something is supposed to be used, but they just don't know how to use it.

[Cmtz]

Buy the madcatz strap. It works better with the ds than the strap the DS comes with.

Here's the link.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64193&highlight=madcatz

[njiska]

Buy the madcatz strap. It works better with the ds than the strap the DS comes with.

Here's the link.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64193&highlight=madcatz

Ok works better, but it doesn't look like it will solve the problem of pressing buttons while wearing the strap and it doesn't solve the problem of trying to hit a button while looking at a different screen.

[Chuplayer]

Well, my school decides to use all this great technology for clocks. Each and every classroom now has a six-foot clock next to the door. Ya-fucking-hoo.

Sometimes people know that something is supposed to be used, but they just don't know how to use it.

What the fuck? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Who was smoking what when they thought up that one?

[JJNova]

I disagree. I haven't played Nanostray, but I can relate through other titles on how shitty it seems to be using the touchscreen for controls in them. But my theory on why it's garbage differs.

It seems more that the games are asking us, the player, to do more with them. For instance, in Polarium, I quickly learned that my skill of speed and reaction times toward memorized button locations is useless when I now have to depend on my ability to hold a stylus steady. I have had no real training on keeping my hand steady, as I have spent more hours trying to perfect the ability to predd "a" as rapidly and in quick succession as possible in order to win numerous mini games.

In Kirby Canvas curse, I really learned this lesson. There is a boss that you must defeat, who has a very simple premise, where you easily connect the dots in the same order that the boss does it. Much like the old light up game, Simon. The thing is, once again, my skills meter for holding a pen steady is very low. All this time I have been beating levels, and filling up my "Button Push" skill bar, instead of my "Hold Still" bar....

Yes, I find the games to be extremely frustrating at times, and the urge to introduce my DS to the livingroom window, but the truth is, it's ressurected my want to perfect a new skill. A game isn't just challenging now because there is more missles on the screen at one time, or more goombas, faster levels, and higher platforms.... now it's dependent once again on my present capabilities.

With a little training, some gatorade, and a quick pop of my knuckles, I know I'll be able to devise a technique that is efficient for me to change weapons or destroy baddies. Truth is, I had a hard time adjusting to the GameCube's controller for James Bond. Why the hell is the D-Pad used to change weapons and gimmicks? That requires me to take my thumb off of the control stick. Ah, but I learned how to do it, and it posed a challenge.

I'm not saying that anyone is wrong. Perhaps it really is just chitty controls. But personally, that's part of the challenge. As long as the game has a good response time, and the challenge is fair, the controls can be learned. The process of watching your skills advance, is a wonderful reward.

Peace and Love are fine, but there will always be (thumb) wars.

[njiska]

Play Nanostray before you comment on this, JJNova. There's a huge difference between Kirby and Nanostray. In Nanostray you must move you thumb off your attack buttons and hit one of 4 different spots on the touch screen, while watching the top screen and avoiding frantic enemies. At least with a controller you can feel the buttons and know what you're touching, but with touch screen controls you actually have to look at the screen and it's a bitch to watch two screens at once.

Beleive me it's not nearly as simple as you think. Play Nanostray and you'll understand. The only plus with nanostray is that the main gun works well enough to beat the game using only it.

If you can devise an effiecnt way of switching weapons i and every reviewer on the planet, might re-think our complaint.

[CrimsonNugget]

I know where you're coming from because emulators on Palm/Pocket PC want you to use buttons on the screen sometimes. It's difficult because there's no sensation because the screen is flat of course. I try to use the PDA's built-in buttons as much as possible, even though their placement sucks. Though that's really awful that this occurs on a gaming system with perfectly good real buttons like the DS.

[Lone_Monster]

I just received the game in the mail, and I just played through one level (And lost at the boss)

Honostly, I don't see what the problem is. You whine about the buttons on the touch screen, and how difficult it is to switch to them. But it's not difficult. You do realize you don't even have to use the A button; you can use the L button, right? Why not just use that? Then you can move and shoot with your left hand, and if you need to, switch to a different weapon with your right. I don't even see why the other types of weapons are needed. They're really no help, atleast that's what it seems like in the level I played.

Also, people are complaining that they have to glance down at the screen to change weapons, making them lose track of what's happening on the top screen. How close do you hold your DS to your face? Right next to it? I mean, if you're playing like I do, not far, but not close, it's easy enough to see both screens at once. I can easily see what buttons there are to push, and keep track of how many enemies there are.

[njiska]

I just received the game in the mail, and I just played through one level (And lost at the boss)

Honostly, I don't see what the problem is. You whine about the buttons on the touch screen, and how difficult it is to switch to them. But it's not difficult. You do realize you don't even have to use the A button; you can use the L button, right? Why not just use that? Then you can move and shoot with your left hand, and if you need to, switch to a different weapon with your right. I don't even see why the other types of weapons are needed. They're really no help, atleast that's what it seems like in the level I played.

Also, people are complaining that they have to glance down at the screen to change weapons, making them lose track of what's happening on the top screen. How close do you hold your DS to your face? Right next to it? I mean, if you're playing like I do, not far, but not close, it's easy enough to see both screens at once. I can easily see what buttons there are to push, and keep track of how many enemies there are.


First using l does make things easier, but you still can't use the more powerful version of the attack without pressing B and beleive me that button is needed. Second. I keep my DS avout a fott away from my face. Can can see both screens but not focus on both of them. So it's still a problem for me. Besides they could've just as easily used L + R for weapon chaning, but they don't even give you the option.

[rbudrick]

Well, my school decides to use all this great technology for clocks. Each and every classroom now has a six-foot clock next to the door. Ya-fucking-hoo.

Sometimes people know that something is supposed to be used, but they just don't know how to use it.

What the fuck? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Who was smoking what when they thought up that one?

Why? Most people just use their computer for Solitaire and a clock! LOL

-Rob

[s1lence]

I agree the touch screen feature in Nanostray is terrible. Memorization doesn't matter, because you have to stop firing to switch. I've decided just to stick with one of the weapon sets.

[robotriot]

You *don't* have to stop firing when switchting weapons. I just keep the L button pressed. Also, the game is very playable without sub-weapons, especially since it helps you up your score significantly by collecting the blue coins when the sub-weapon meter is full :) I've gotten used to switching weapons, I usually don't look at the bottom screen and hit the right spot blindly. Although they could have extended the "touchable" area all the way to the right border of the screen to make it easier.

[s1lence]

LOL I should start to read the directions, I didnt know the L button worked.